I've been to Nirvana

and they call it the NYS Wool and Sheep festival.

Ahhhhhh! to run my hands through the skeins of various hues and textures of the mohair and silk yarns from Texas. To see the wool felted hats of various patterns. One looked like a slice of watermelon, very cute! But to wear in winter?? I coveted the hand felted little bag in a dark, ruddy orange, a clutch shaped like a slice of the moon whose top just folded in on itself. A wool l oragami. Someday I told myself, someday I'll make one of those....maybe.

I did purchase some Border Leicster and mohair blend in a variegated color called North Wood which will soon be a shawl from Knitty.com fall 2004. It will feel so luxurious when the winter winds set in. And I am also the new owner of an alpaca wool hand woven blanket, purchased for a steal.....I love the Wool and Sheep festival!!

A sweater for Ronnie

Tomorrow my son Mike and I will travel North to see Kate and Ron and my beautiful grandchildren. It will be a day of celebration of Ron Jr's bday along with two of the children, Maggie who was recently 5 and Ron 3 who just turned two. So the past few days have been spent gathering together gifts for all, buying fairies and 'little pets' for a Little Pet Shoppe Maggie received for her birthday. Ron 3 is getting a golf set from his uncles Mike ('uncles' because he is uncle to 3 of his sister's children). And I will be presenting the sweater...the aforementioned variegated blue merino wool sweater for my grandson.

I reknit one cuff until I was happy with the results and even now his sweater is soaking in cool water, waiting to be blocked. Soon there will be a sweater for Maggie...........and the Wynn.

I'd explain it if I could

while I can't quite explain what I did in the first place, my grandson's sweater is moving to it's completion with nary a hitch. Well, okay, I fixed the hitch....apparently.

I cast on a beautful variegated blue merino wool for R's sweater about 6 weeks ago and have since been working on it while not knitting various other projects. And when I came to the neck, ever ready to knit on the neckband, I noted a loose stitch. No problem, thought I. I'll just pull this here....and stick this there....no that's not right....it's this I have to pull...can you see where I am going? In a wink of an eye I had lots of things pulled and not one idea where they came from. So I consulted my Knit Dr. sister who wisely said, Knit on sista. Don't bother to try and figure it out. And so I didn't. And somehow I am done with the neckband and there are no holes or boo boos to try to cover up. :) How nice. Now it's on to the last sleeve............

Made with love and a few boo boos along the way

Dear Blog,
Today I will put the final touches on my first baby sweater. One of my fellow RNs is having a baby this month and in the spirit of the holiday I have knitted a squash colored sweater for baby Kennedy from the Debbie Bliss "Simply Family" book. There are a few boo boos along the way, like switching to the wrong sized needle on the bottom of the sweater's right front panel. And there will be more beautiful baby sweaters in the years to come. But there will never be one made with more love. Happy Birthday Kennedy Mulholland.

I am a knit wit RN

I have my sister to blame for all of this. First knitting, then blogging. Where will it end I ask you? Some years ago my sister asked, none to innocently I've come to note, "would you like to learn to knit again?" 'Again' because we had once knit as children, some 40 years post hence. And I said, "No thanks"....but then I came to be envious of her knitted mitties, her knitted cardies, her felted bags and finally her knitted mice and pears. I was drawn in. At first it was insidious, a knitted scarf here, a knitted hat there. Soon I was lusting after beautiful rosewood needles, luxurious yarns and cherishing the Lantern Moon silk needle case my father gifted me. Now I am faced with a closet full of plastic storage boxes, each filled to popping with merino wools and mohairs waiting to be turned into knitted treasures. When I started on this path I finished all that I started before moving onto another project. Now I am a 'real' knitter... a basket by the bedside with socks on needles, a grandson's sweater in my Pueblo Knitters bag, my own sweater on a circular needle beside my chair in the front room, a baby sweater awaiting the last seam to be sewn sitting on the dining table....and as I said, I have my sister to thank for all of this.....